Samit Patel spurred on by new Notts CCC deal

Mark Duffy

Samit Patel feels he is at the peak of his career after signing a new three-year deal with Nottinghamshire CCC.

Patel has been at Trent Bridge for his whole career and is a key player in the Notts set-up in all forms of the game.

And having committed his future to the team, the 30-year-old all-rounder, who grew up in Eastwood, now wants to help them rediscover their trophy-winning form as well as remaining an option for the England selectors too.

He said: “Signing the new deal was a no brainer for me as I’ve been here my whole career and I don’t see myself ever playing anywhere else.

“I feel I’m at the peak of my game now and still have so much to offer.

“Obviously England is on the horizon still if I’m playing well but on a club level I’m hoping to continue to make a big impact and help us win some silverware.”

Patel was ever-present last season and scored more than 1,100 runs in first class cricket, his consistency a key factor in Notts’ season and something he feels will be of benefit again in 2015.

He added: “I feel we’ve got a real chance in all three formats this year.

“Obviously we want to get past the quarter-finals of the T20 which has been a problem in the last few years. We always say we still want to be in contention come August and we need to make sure we don’t fade off in September again as we did last year.

“So it’s something we need to address as a squad and become mentally tougher.

“Winning the T20 Cup in Barbados was a good start to the year as it gives us that winning mentality early on, as it has done when we’ve won it before, and the preparation as a whole was really good.”